Fort Manuel (1)

Fort Manuel (1) (1812-1813) - Established in 1812 by Manuel Lisa as a fur trading post for the Missouri Fur Company in present day Sioux County, South Dakota. Abandoned by March 1813.

Fort Manuel (1) History

The buildings at Fort Manuel (1) were enclosed by a quadrilatral stockade of upright posts set in a shallow trench, and was reinforced by circular bastions in two corners that also were composed of upright posts. Circular bastions are not recorded for any other post on the upper Missouri. The fort was abandoned by March 1813.

Current Status

The site of Fort Manuel (1) was excavated before it was destroyed by wave action of Lake Oahe, and the work revealed details of its construction that might have a bearing on Lisa's first post, Fort Raymond in present day Montana. The fort was at the high water point of the reservoir. State markers are on the road.

Some confusion exists over the naming of the forts created by Manuel Lisa and his company, exact locations are unknown for some of them and this has led to further confusion. The forts and their locations are detailed below:

Manuel Lisa's Fur Trading Posts

Primary Name	Dates	State	Location	AKA Names
Fort Manuel (1)	1812-1813	South Dakota	Under Lake Oahe	None
Cedar Island Post	1811-18??	South Dakota	Under Lake Francis Case	None
Fort Manuel Lisa (1)	1809-1813	North Dakota	Under Garrison Dam project	Fort Manuel (2) Fort Lisa (1) Fort Mandan (2) Fort Lewis (7) Fort Vanderburgh
Fort Raymond (1)	1810-1811	Montana		Fort Manuel (3) Fort Manuel Lisa (2) Fort Remon Fort Lisa (2) Lisa's Post Big Horn Post (2)
Fort Henry (1)	1810-1811	Montana	3 Forks	Three Forks Post Fort at Three Forks Andrew Henry's Post
Fort Lisa (3)	1809, 1812-1823	Nebraska		Fort Hunt (2) Lisa's Fort
Fort Henry (2)	1810-1811	Idaho	Henry's fork of the Snake River	Henry's Post

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Location: 30 miles north of Mobridge, to the east of Kenel, Sioux County, South Dakota Maps & Images Lat: 45.89444 Long: -100.45861 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 1600'

Sources:

• Hart, Herbert M., Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder CO, 1980, ISBN 0-87108-568-2, page 145 (under Fort Manuel (1) Lisa)
• Wood, W. Raymond, First Post in the Far West (November 1807 - March 1813), Discovering Lewis & Clark®, http://www.lewis-clark.org , August 2007

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